A POP-UP arts venue can come to a Keighley Park, despite the objection from a local resident raising concerns it could attract drunken, anti-social crowds.
Bradford Councillors have granted a licence to Bradford Culture Company for The Beacon, a travelling arts venue to come to Cliffe Castle Park later this month after hearing that anti-social behaviour had decreased by 14 per cent during the City of Culture year.
The venue has so far spent month long residencies in Wibsey Park and Bowling Park, hosting events including live music, family activities, poetry recitals and theatre performances.
Plans for the month long stay in Keighley include an archaeology festival, a celebration of 75 years of Cliffe Castle Museum and a parade of huge puppets through the park.
The Culture Company applied for a licence to serve alcohol at the venue until 11pm and live music until midnight.
Although similar licence applications for The Beacon’s stints in Wibsey and Bowling parks passed without controversy, there had been an objection to the licence for Cliffe Castle by a Keighley resident.
This meant the application had to be decided by the Bradford District Licensing Panel on Tuesday.
Image: Bradford2025
The single objection said: “Cliffe Castle is located in a public park that is highly valued for its peaceful character and family-friendly environment. The introduction of daily events running until midnight (including music and alcohol) is wholly inconsistent with the tranquil setting.
“The location is a popular site for families and school visits. The presence of alcohol sales from midday every day risks normalising alcohol use in an environment meant for young children and community learning.
“No robust safeguarding plan has been detailed in the application to address how children visiting the park and museum will be protected from potential harm arising from intoxicated patrons or disorderly behaviour.
“Increased foot traffic, potentially inebriated visitors, and insufficient lighting pose public safety concerns.”
The objector, whose name was redacted, did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Ben Pugh, Director of production of Bradford 2025, told members that a “shortcoming in the licensing process” meant applications like this had no space to include “narrative or nuance” over what the event set out to achieve and how it would be handled.
He said: “We’ve operated in Wibsey Park and Bowling Park and in both settings, we’ve operated without issues or complaints.”
Members were told that although the licence was for noon to midnight, there would not be any events that lasted that period of time, and those hours were being applied for to cover the various different types of events that take place at different times of the day over the course of a month.
Mr Pugh said: “While I understand the objection, I don’t think it’s valid in this case.”
He said no events were planned to run past 11pm.
The panel was told the objector had been sent a letter by Mr Pugh addressing their concerns.
It said: “We are pleased to report that police colleagues have noted no significant increase in crime or anti-social behaviour in city areas despite the rise in footfall and events, and in fact anti-social behaviour (ASB) has decreased by 14.1 per cent over the last year.
“Neighbourhood crime including burglary, robbery, and theft is down nearly 8 per cent in the same period, a positive trend that has accompanied the growth in City of Culture activity across the district.”
Members approved the licence, but changed the approved time from noon to 11pm, rather than midnight.
